book review: Nathan's Story

Hello, my dear friends!  

I once again have the wonderful opportunity to share a lovely little children's book with you...

Name of book: Nathan's Story

Author:  Michael J. McHugh
Format:  Hard Cover
Ages: 1+
Overall Rating: 5 stars

 This book, Nathan's Story, is a sweet and simple to understand retelling of the story which the prophet Nathan came and told King David illustrating the error of the king's way.  The story of the rich man and his abundance of wealth- his fields of sheep, his grand house, and many servants- in contrast to the story of the poor man- a widower with his two little sons barely getting enough to eat- but whose delight was the little lamb that he and his sons cherished as a pet.  
 The opposite lives of the two men collide when the rich man is visited by a traveling friend and he wants to feed him a good meal- the problem is, he doesn't want the expense...


 The tale woven is one of greed and envy- but ultimately resulting in brokenness and redemption. 


The book is divided up into six short chapters, each with their own teaching guide- a type of devotional with scripture passages to think about concerning what was read.

-Worldview: Christian.

-Character Qualities: Contentment, Brokenness 

Final thoughts or comments:

  I was thrilled reading this book as I saw the sweet illustrations, the simple language, and the ratio of words to page- it was sheer brilliance!  As you all know, I have 8 younger siblings and have quite a frustration when the 3-year-old gets bored looking at the same illustration for 5 minutes as I'm trying to get through the second or third paragraph on the page! What a pleasant surprise to see that Mr. McHugh did a fabulous job capturing the perfect balance for those sweet little attention spans. 

  The devotionals in the back of the book are good and biblical- helping to reach into the Word and reveal what God says about the problems that arise for the characters in each chapter. My only apprehension with them is that they may be a bit tiresome for younger children- but definitely a blessed resource for children (and adults!) that can understand.

Click here to purchase!

raindrops...

Sometimes as we see the dark storm clouds rolling in- darkening our world in a dismal gray- we are tempted to be depressed.  "Woe is me!  Where is the sunshine?"

We feel as though the world isn't right until the sky is clear, the sun radiant upon your face, blooming flowers grace the air with fragrance, and the music of birds fill the atmosphere.  

Or is it?

When we come upon a storm in our life- when something doesn't go our way, when tragedy strikes, when we are having relational issues- life seems gray, dull, without a point.  We lose motivation and drive, we lose sight of our goal in Christ- IF we allow it.

James 1:2-3 says,

"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials; 

knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance."

It is what you make it- will you allow it to tear down your character- wallow in self-pity, stare out the window, noting the gray sky, the muddy messes that are pooling up?  Or will you dance in it?  Run outside, spin round and round, splash in the puddles, let it wash you- for the testing of your faith produces endurance-

"And let endurance have it's perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

James 1:4

Watch the flowers when the rain falls- how much more vibrant are they after a storm?

audio review: The White Gypsy

Hello, my dear friends!

  Oh my, I just finished listening to the very last episode of The White Gypsy audio drama last night.  Hmm... maybe I should start over.

  The White Gypsy is a tale that begins with a delightful little train ride in which a young mother and her two young sons, Willie, aged six, and Dickie, a few years younger, were traveling in the white of winter.  Their father was in poor health, riding in a separate part of the train...  

Willie was making pleasant and entertaining conversation with one of the fellow passengers when the unexpected happened.  The train wrecked, scattering people in every direction onto the snow, Willie being one of them.  The mother and Dickie were still safe within the confines of the train car, but when the father found Willie, no pulse was to be found.  He was left as dead while the injured passengers were cared for.

  As a gypsy woman and her husband were passing by, they couldn't help but notice the beautiful  and valuable buttons found on the dead boy's coat.  For fear of being caught, taking too long stealing the boy's jacket, the gypsies pick him up and carry him to their camp.  It was there that Willie was accidentally revived- he was alive!

  When the poor father came back to the spot where his boy lay so as to carry him off to his final resting place he was distraught to discover that the body was gone!  After searching everywhere, asking others who had helped with other bodies and injured passengers, checking the morgue, the father- knowing how distressed his wife would be at the thought of her boy's death much less that his body was missing and knowing that his own death was near- decided to confide this information to one person.  He gave a key to his desk drawer to Major Sartoris, if Willie were ever to be found, there was a letter to him, and all the information surrounding his disappearance.

  Meanwhile Willie was living with the gypsies, his blonde hair and fair skin being dyed dark, his body being vilely drugged constantly that he might not remember his former life.  He was forced to sing and beg for money- but God used that shameful occupation to open an unexpected door that led to many more over ten years- that ultimately led him home.

  I read the book a year or so ago and it was fabulous- I listened to the audio drama and it was fantastic!  Most of the cast was perfectly chosen, the acting was superb- George's part was probably our favorite...  One thing that did bother me a bit though, was the parts outside the story- the scenes in Finnian Jones' "Exploratorium".  They were a little cheesy for my taste- and they seemed to disrupt the "effect" at the very end.  These scenes though, take up so little of the audio drama that they are barely worth mentioning- the story in it's remembrance was amazing and beautiful.

Click here to purchase the audio CDs and click here to purchase the book!

(Don't forget to use my code: GUILD66)

On another note I also wanted to notify you all of this fabulous sale that Lamplighter Publishing has going on right now through July 8th...

If any of you have ordered from Lamplighter before, you know what a great deal $5 flat rate shipping is!  For those of you that have never ordered from Lamplighter before, I would encourage you to take advantage of this fabulous offer...

Click here to see it!

My affiliate expires on June 30th- use code GUILD66 at your checkout and 30% will go towards my tuition at the Lamplighter Guild!

Some of my favorite books are on sale:

(click the images to be directed)

Book Review: Answers Book 4 Teens Vol. 1

Name: Answers Book 4 Teens Vol. 1

Author(s): Bodie Hodge, Tommy Mitchell, with Ken Ham

Publisher: Master Books

Genre: Non-fiction, Creation Science

Ages: 14+

Page Count: 95

Format: Softcover
Overall Rating: 3 stars


The Answers Book 4 Teens is a great resource that offers basic, hardcore facts surrounding Biblical Christianity and Creationism.  Written in straight forward and simple language, the book steers itself towards the more secular and worldly teens searching for answers a midst great darkness.  Topics discussed include the age of the earth, world population, reliability of the Bible and more.
  
 As I was reading this book I must confess to being a bit disappointed.  I was looking for something that had more "meat" to it- more in depth apologetics, archaeological discoveries, scientific evidences for Creation.  It felt as though I was being spoken down to, as though everything needed to be explained to me in little words.  For example, "according to the genealogies (those lists with all the 'begat' words)".  Now, nothing is wrong with that- necessarily. (I do believe that teenagers should be able to understand what a genealogy is without any one explaining it to them.)
  However,  I believe that this book would make an excellent resource for a more secular or worldly teen looking for answers- especially one that is unsaved! Large graphics and images, as well as interesting styling and small amounts of words per page lend itself to an appealing and "readable" book for the average teen.


  I do want to mention though, if you are a young person that has been in the faith for a few years- has been raised by Christian parents and perhaps even home schooled, there is not much of a reason for you to read this book simply based on the fact that it is not aimed towards you as an audience and you may already know everything that it has to say.  A much better thing for you to read if you would like more in-depth looks at Creation Science and Christian Apologetics is the Answers Books 1, 2, & 3.  

I received this book at no charge from New Leaf Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

to everything there is a season...

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven—

A time to give birth and a time to die;

A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.

A time to kill and a time to heal;

A time to tear down and a time to build up.

A time to weep and a time to laugh;

A time to mourn and a time to dance.

A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;

A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.

A time to search and a time to give up as lost;

A time to keep and a time to throw away.

A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;

A time to be silent and a time to speak.

A time to love and a time to hate;

A time for war and a time for peace.

{Ecclesiastes 3:1-8}

Sometimes we don't understand what God is doing.  Sometimes life doesn't make sense.  Why, God? Why did you take that away?

Have you ever felt this way?  Take comfort, my friend!  To everything there is a season- perhaps it is not the time for whatever it is that God has closed the door on- or taken away.

He knows the number of hairs upon your head- He would never want His child to be in undue pain or distress.  Trust that God knows the times and seasons- and that He has an ultimate plan in which He will be glorified.  

Have a wonderful day, my friends!

winner!

Congratulations, Kelsey R....

You won the Take Back the Land giveaway!

Please contact me within 48 hours or I will select another winner :-)

Have a fabulous day, my friends!

P.S. More giveaways coming soon ;-)

so....

Hello, my dear friends!

So.... some of you may be wondering about my "status" concerning the Lamplighter Guild.

Well...

...drumroll, please....

...I'm happy to announce...

...that...

I'm going!

I'm so excited- thank you so much all of my dear friends that were praying for me and supported me in this...  I feel so blessed- my heart is overwhelmed!

...

If anyone is still interested in purchasing any Lamplighter books, you can still use my code: GUILD66 at your checkout and 30% of the proceeds from your purchase will go towards my tuition until June 30th.  If you have any questions about any of the books- please do not hesitate to ask!

I also wanted to mention- there are only 2 days left in my Take Back the Land giveaway- don't forget to enter- it was a fabulous book!

Hoping on posting more soon- things have been pretty crazy around here recently- but you can probably imagine why :-)

Have a wonderful day!